CHITTENANGO >> Village judges have recused themselves from the case of former village police chief Jeffrey Paul because of a conflict of interest, after an arraignment in the matter has twice been delayed, court officials said.

The issue will now be referred to a county court judge who will then assign another local court judge to handle the arraignment, said Madison County District Attorney William Gabor.

On March 11, Paul, 53, of Canastota, was charged with two counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, a class E felony, following a March 7 search warrant executed by the Madison County Sheriff's Department at the Chittenango village offices, Chittenango Police Station and his private business, the Paul Funeral Home locations in Madison and Brookfield.

Police say Paul allegedly signed and submitted a false time sheet to the Madison County Sheriff's Department indicating he worked on Oct. 13, 2012 from 8:31 a.m. to 9:03 p.m. as a deputy sheriff, while evidence shows he was working as a funeral director at the same time.

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He was arraigned March 11 in the Town of Lenox Court for that charge, where he pleaded not guilty to one felony count.

Paul was released on his own recognizance, and will appear again in Town of Lenox Court on April 23 at 3 p.m.

The Chittenango felony complaint, the charge still pending arraignment, mirrors the Lenox charge with the exception of date and time. In the Chittenango complaint, Paul allegedly filed a time sheet saying he was working for the Chittenango Police Department on Sept. 10, 2012 from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. while conducting funeral services at the same time.